Parshas Pesach Edition
In addition to the four cups of wine that each participant drinks during the Passover Seder, a fifth cup is placed on the Seder table. This cup, which is not drunk, is known as Kos Shel Eliyahu, Elijah’s Cup. The Kos Shel Eliyahu at the Seder symbolizes our faith and belief in the long-standing tradition that Elijah the Prophet will one day soon announce the coming of the Messiah and the Final Redemption. Indeed, many Jews have the custom that after the Kos Shel Eliyahu is poured they open the front door as if to welcome Elijah the Prophet into their home.
The following amazing true story, first told by the great Chassidic Master, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin ZTâ€L (1796-1850), revolves around a Jew and his Kos Shel Eliyahu, and contains a few powerful lessons that I would like to share with you:
Once upon a time there lived a wealthy and prominent Jew, who was spiritually elevated and G-d fearing, gave lots of charity to the poor, and was meticulous in his observance of the mitzvos (commandments).
One mitzvah that was especially beloved to him was the Kos Shel Eliyahu at the Seder. For this particular mitzvah, he went all out. He purchased a very expensive and beautiful golden goblet that was a splendor to look at. Each year right before Passover, he would take the Kos Shel Eliyahu out of the breakfront and shine it until it was gleaming. He even added precious diamonds and pearls on to the goblet, making it even more dazzling and magnificent. He also purchased the oldest and finest wine he could find, as only the best would be good enough for Elijah the Prophet on the night of Passover.
After some years, the wealthy Jew lost his fortune, and was forced to sell off his furniture and other possessions one by one to stay financially solvent. However, his most prized possession – the Kos Shel Eliyahu – that had been so precious to him because of his great love for that mitzvah, he couldn’t bear to part from, and while he sold off everything else that he owned, he kept the magnificent golden goblet for himself. He placed the goblet in the breakfront, using it only on Passover, giving him and his wife and family so much joy even during those difficult years of poverty and deprivation.
One year, things got really tough, and with major expenses for the upcoming holiday of Passover and no money to speak of, he decided that he had no choice but to sell off the prized Kos Shel Eliyahu and to use the money to pay for matzah and wine etc. His wife, however, who had complete faith in G-d, trembled at her husband’s suggestion that they sell the goblet. She refused to allow the sale, claiming that the Kos Shel Eliyahu didn’t really belong to them but to Elijah the Prophet, so they had no right to sell it!! As for Passover expenses, his wife told him that they should place their complete faith and trust in G-d above, as He would surely send them what they needed for the holiday.
Having been left with no option to sell the goblet, and with nothing else left to sell, and with a house full of empty cupboards, the once wealthy Jew decided to put all his trust in G-d. Yet when it came to the night of Passover, he simply couldn’t bear to see a house with nothing in it, so he went to the mikvah (ritual bath) earlier than usual, and then to the shul (synagogue) and spent his time there studying Torah and preparing spiritually for the Passover Seder.
When he came home that night after the Evening Prayers were over, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The Seder table was set lavishly with all kinds of fancy foods, plenty of matzos and bottles of fine wine. In the kitchen he found many prepared fish and meat dishes, and other delicacies. He asked his wife where all this food and drink came from. She told him with great excitement that just after he left to go to the mikvah, a holy-looking guest with a long flowing white beard and a shining countenance came to the house and asked if he could join them that night at the Passover Seder. When she told him that they literally had nothing to serve him at the Seder because of their great poverty, the guest responded that there was no need to worry because he had brought along with him an entire wagon full of all that one could possibly ask for at the Passover Seder. Before leaving for shul - explained the wife - the guest requested that in case he was late that night, they should start the Passover Seder without him, and just wait for him when they get to the Kos Shel Eliyahu.
Realizing the great miracle that happened to them that night, the man was filled with incredible joy, and he thanked G-d profusely for this great kindness that He bestowed upon them. He then began the Seder in a state of spiritual ecstasy. When they got to Kos Shel Eliyahu and opened the front door, they were surprised again to see their holy guest – who, of course, was none other than Elijah the Prophet himself! – and he entered their house to drink some wine from the beautiful golden goblet that had been prepared for him.
Just before their holy guest left, he told the couple that in the merit of the great ‘mesiras nefesh’ (dedication and devotion) to the mitzvah of Kos Shel Eliyahu that they displayed by not selling the expensive golden goblet at all costs, he was sent down from Heaven to bring blessing into their home, so that from now on, they would never lack for anything ever again.
[Ed. Note: According to Jewish tradition, Elijah the Prophet was given by G-d the ability to come back down to this world in an earthly form to carry out specific missions or miracles. Sometimes he appears and then vanishes without revealing his true identity, although the main character usually realizes who he is after the miracle occurs. Other times, Elijah reveals who he really is, as in our present story. This experience is referred to as ‘giluy Eliyahu’, which literally means “Elijah reveals himselfâ€, and very few people merit having this special experience - dz]
And so it was that soon after Passover, the Jew regained his fortune and became wealthy again just as he had been before – only now he cherished the great mitzvah of Kos Shel Eliyahu that much more.
There are a few lessons that I think we can take away from this true Passover story:
(1) As illustrated in the story, it is very meritorious for each individual or family to adopt a specific mitzvah or Jewish custom that really resonates with them, and which they are particularly fond of, and to make it their own. It could be the acquiring of a stunning Kos Shel Eliyahu or a beautiful pair of Tefillin, or the meticulous observance of the mitzvah of Tzedakah (charity). It doesn’t make a difference what one chooses – the main thing is to take one custom or mitzvah and go ‘all out’ with it, just like the Jew in the story.
(2) The holy Rebbe of Ruzhin pointed out that the husband in the story who had initially thought to sell the golden goblet, merited giluy Eliyahu once, while his wife, who had greater devotion and trust in G-d and would not allow the sale of the Kos Shel Eliyahu at all, merited the revelation of Eliyahu not once but twice. Such is the power of complete faith and trust in G-d, even when one finds oneself in an incredibly difficult situation.
(3) While it is one of the fundamentals of our faith to believe in the coming of the Messiah, and that Elijah the Prophet will be the one who will announce his coming, stories like these – and there are literally thousands of documented stories about giluy Eliyahu just like this one – can only help to reinforce our emunah (faith) that Elijah is alive and well, and that he will indeed show up one day in Jerusalem and announce the coming of the Messiah, may it come speedily and in our day.
HAVE A HAPPY AND A HEALTHY PASSOVER!
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